inspiration

Colorist Inspiration – UK Music Video Awards 2020

May 20, 2021

Dan shares some grading inspiration from the 2020 best colour grading nominees at the UK music video awards


Series

Looking Back At The Best Music Video Grades Of 2019/2020

Due to the crazy pandemic postponing and changing the world, I forgot to do my usual inspiration round-up of the best music video grades as chosen by the UK Music Video Awards.

Entries for the 2021 show open up in June, if you have a grade you are proud of you should enter here!

In my opinion music videos are a huge source of inspiration as they have the greatest freedom for a colorist to go wild.

Respecting the photography is always our primary goal but the creative briefs on a music video tend to have more out there references as artists strive to differentiate themselves.

For example, the music video below I graded this year. The grade was pretty damn bonkers and inspired by Kodak Aerochrome film stock

It was a great opportunity to go a bit crazy. Only in music video land could I break the memory color rule and make the grass pink, the highlights green, and the shadows blue.

Be your own judge

One of my favorite things was trying to pick the winner before the winner is officially announced. Due to this being a bit later than normal you could cheat and check out the actual winner before watching them all but I beg you to watch them all blindly.

I’ll post the winner in the comments so you can enjoy the Insight spoiler-free until the end.

There are no hard rules for what makes a “best grade” as color is such a personal choice, but I have some suggestions to think about while picking your favorite:

  • Is it amazing grading or amazing cinematography?
  • How much has the grade elevated the project?
  • Does the grade fit the genre?
  • How much work has gone into the grade?
  • Does the grade harmonize well with the project or does it feel forced?

Member Content

Sorry... the rest of this content is for members only. You'll need to login or Join Now to continue (we hope you do!).

Need more information about our memberships? Click to learn more.

Membership options
Member Login

Are you using our app? For the best experience, please login using the app's launch screen


Comments

Homepage Forums Colorist Inspiration – UK Music Video Awards 2020


  • Dan Moran
    Guest

    And the winner is:

    Dj Shadow Ft De La Soul – Rocket Fuel

    Hover over the box above to reveal the Winner


  • Jose Santos
    Guest

    Dua Lipa’s would be my first choice and second would be The Weekends.

    I don’t know why, but I’m very much into rich and saturated colors with a good amount of contrast at the moment and those two check those boxes for me. They are all astonishing though and rocket fuel definitely deserves the win. I remember watching it when it came out and being blown away!

Log in to reply.

1,000+ Tutorials to Explore

Get full access to our entire library of over 1,100+ color tutorials for an entire week!


Start Your Test Drive!
Loading...